News & Events

The North West Collaborative Commercial Agency (NWCCA), working with BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), has been honoured for outstanding achievement at the annual Government Opportunities (GO) magazine National Excellence in Public Procurement Awards that took place on Wednesday 15th June in London.

Beating 24 other entries with their submission, the NWCCA and BD were presented with the coveted Winner’s Award in the ‘Innovation or Initiative of the Year’ category, in recognition of their important work to encourage NHS Trusts to adopt a new procedure which could save valuable nursing time and make patient care safer.

The BD PosiFlush™ prefilled syringe contains a saline solution specifically designed for flushing in-situ vascular access devices. This syringe offers many advantages, including a vastly reduced preparation time, a reduced potential for air or skin-borne bacterial contamination and the elimination of needles from the entire process. The plunger and stopper design also eliminates syringe-induced blood reflux.

Ian Dodd, Clinical Advisor at the NWCCA, realised the potential of these prefilled syringes and set out on a campaign to encourage NHS Trusts to adopt this innovative product. Following a robust clinical trial at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, 21 Trusts now actively use BD PosiFlush™ syringes and have found that they are able to release valuable nursing time which can now be focused directly and more productively on patient care. As needles are no longer used in the flushing process, needlestick injuries are eliminated. The design of the BD PosiFlush™ syringe also minimises blood exposure, thus reducing clinicians’ risk of contracting blood-borne viruses.

Accepting the Award, Peter Akid, Chief Executive, North West Collaborative Commercial Agency, said: "We are delighted to win the National GO Award for Innovation of the Year. The North West Collaborative Commercial Agency is committed to working with suppliers producing innovative products or services which deliver real benefits to the NHS, and winning this award will certainly strengthen our credentials in this area."

The NWCCA estimates that this new system could deliver cost savings of more than £1.5 million annually, if all member Trusts in the North West adopted the new system.

The adoption of pre-filled syringes also has a beneficial effect on the environment, as the new system generates less waste.

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ABOUT THE NWCCA

The NWCCA is an NHS organisation, established by the NHS, for the NHS and drives improved procurement and commercial efficiencies across the North West health economy.

We do this by embedding commercial best practice and ensuring value for money procurement by offering a broad range of enhanced and optional commercial and contracting services to our 49 member Trusts who own and fund the organisation.

Blending public sector values with private sector ethos the NWCCA maximises the NHS’s enormous purchasing power, not just to save money, but also to improve quality, patient safety and reduce inefficiencies

Over the past five years, the NWCCA has helped Trusts achieve savings of more than £110 million which have been reinvested to further enhance the quality of patient care.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS RELEASE PLEASE CONTACT

Jenny Graham, Communications & Marketing Manager on 0161 212 2419 or email jenny.graham@nwcca.nhs.uk.